This invention relates to the refrigerant heat exchange loop in systems which remove heat from one or more parts of a building that are to be cooled. In particular, this invention relates to the effective use of the refrigerant heat exchange loop in association with a water heat exchange loop in systems which employ water as a heat exchange medium to remove heat from various parts of a building.
It is desirable that a system for cooling one or more parts of a building be as efficient as possible. This includes minimizing the consumption of energy by the various components of the system when performing their respective functions. Various approaches have been taken to achieve this goal. These include the use of energy efficient components that minimize the consumption of electricity while performing their particular functions within the system. Examples of such components include energy efficient motors which drive compressors and/or fans within the system. Still other approaches include maximizing the efficiencies of the heat transfer mechanisms such as the evaporator and condenser elements of these systems.
Another approach to increasing system efficiency is to eliminate when possible the operation of the compressor. An example of such an approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,889. The compressor within the disclosed system in this patent is bypassed under certain conditions so as to provide a natural cooling circuit for cooling a room. The system is premised on taking advantage of gravitational flow of the more dense refrigerant as it moves to the evaporator from the condenser. Such a system however requires that the condenser be mounted above the evaporator. This system will not work in situations where the condenser unit and the evaporator unit cannot be so positioned relative to each other.